Sleep apnea and vision problems

Has anyone read anything or been told that sleep apnea can cause problems with your vision?
I never had problems with my eyes until the last few years when I needed readers. My doc said I was just getting old. Damn doc I am only 47 I should have stepped on his bad foot for that age joke. Anyway my script changed every year. I tried tri focals so I could wear the glasses no script on top, computer work in the middle and reading below.

My new eye doc suggest just throwing out what I use and by the cheapo readers and carry two sets one for computer work and one for book reading.

I do have to say the best thing about wearing glasses all the time is that it's harder to lose them which is good for someone who has OSA. Oh boy, I can't wait for alzheimers then I will be able to forget that I forgot!

The eye dr was right, unfortunately. Ages 40-50 are the worst time for vision changes. I wore the same eyeglass prescription, with minor changes, from age 16 to 40. Then between age 40 and 44 (now), my prescription has changed several times. And they say that it's perfectly normal.

Many people transition from a single vision lens to a bi-focal (or progressive) lens in their early 40s. I'm resisting making the change to progressive lenses, so I have one pair of glasses for most of the time (driving, watching tv, etc.) and another pair just for reading or working at the computer. The worst part is having to take off my glasses if I want to write a text on my phone.

It's a b---h to get older...

It is common for males to lose near vision about the age of 40 or near after. I did. The lens stiffens, I hear. I'm not saying that apnea isn't a cause, because I've read that about 25% of males out there are walking around with sleep apnea and don't know it. I'd say that doesn't even equate to correlation and so probably not for causation either. In 1900 a man's life expectancy was 46.3, so over millions of years, I suppose our bodies lose their warranty around then

RandyJ wrote:The eye dr was right, unfortunately. Ages 40-50 are the worst time for vision changes. I wore the same eyeglass prescription, with minor changes, from age 16 to 40. Then between age 40 and 44 (now), my prescription has changed several times. And they say that it's perfectly normal.

Many people transition from a single vision lens to a bi-focal (or progressive) lens in their early 40s. I'm resisting making the change to progressive lenses, so I have one pair of glasses for most of the time (driving, watching tv, etc.) and another pair just for reading or working at the computer. The worst part is having to take off my glasses if I want to write a text on my phone.

It's a b---h to get older...

Why resist the progressives??? I've had them for the last 6 years. No line so you can't tell they are bi-focals and you don't have to change glasses from distance to reading. Resistance is futile!!

And...I've probably had apnea for years and my prescriptin hasn't changed at all in the 4 years. Now that I'm on the hose I expect my vision to improve

It's age, not apnea. We can't blame everything on apnea. Progressive lenses were not as tough to adjust to as I thought they'd be. I wear contacts sometimes too. I'm just hoping I can stick it out with monovision contacts, but I'm losing my near-vision and don't want to give up my distance to accommodate the near. I don't like the idea of needing to search for reading glasses in order to see small things, or to have to carry a set around with me...I'd almost rather just wear glasses if I have to do that...

I have progressives and have had two pair now for a little over two years. I love them but I hate them. I love them becuase I always wear them and don't lost them. I love them because they are also my sunglasses so I don't lose them. I hate them because sometimes I just can't read with them. The list goes on and on. I was just in to a new doc and was told that the script in these glasses is not correct and the glasses were not lined up properly.

I am not giving the eye doc that made these glasses any more business. These glasses cost me $350.00 out of pocket and my insurance and my wives insurance paid. I sure am glad I have insurance if I didn't I probably would have gone to Walmart and the doc there probably would have gotten it correct and I would have gotten two pair for the same price.

I go both ways. I have progressives for general life, reading labels at the supermarket and texting on the phone. For computer work or serious reading I switch to dedicated reading/computer glasses. I got 2 two pairs from 39dollarglasses, one for home and one for work. On too many occasions, when I only had one pair of computer/reading glasses, I would leave the one pair at the other place. Of course that was pre-CPAP.

I am at present using a Red Med CPAP machine and Fisher Pikel mask and am experiencing hemorrhage problems in my right eye. I don't know if it is the CPAP that is causing but just starting the new machine and mask and the problem has showed itself. Has anyone else run into this problem. When I wake in AM the eye really is bad. Don't want this machine and/or mask to blind me.

Walter; see your eye doctor. IMHO, it is NOT the cpap, but you need to have the doc look at it--ASAP.
I cannot in good conscience sugar coat this--see your ophthalmologist right away!

OK everybody; hold on to your hats! I was diagnosed at age 45 with early macular degeneration; I went to bifocals, then trifocals, and now 3 different pairs of RX glasses since trifocals are no longer cutting it. One bifocal for everyday, one for reading that has extra magnification, and one for the computer - these last two are single vision. Also a pair of clip-on magnifiers for short term reading needs when away from home, like price tags, the hymnal at church, etc.

Now, after nearly 25 years, my eye doc has referred me back to the retinal specialist as it looks like the retinal layers are splitting, which is causing additional vision problems. I refuse to stop reading, and often use my kindle app on the PC but that's not my preference, as I prefer hard copies of the books I read.

I'm with Chunkyfrong in the opinion that CPAP has nothing do with your vision, other than the mask leaking into your eyes and making you uncomfortable. If you are having any kind of trouble with your eyes, see your ophthalmologist ASAP! Some eye problems cannot be fixed with glasses, and there are things the doc can do to halt progression in many cases.

If you search the old messages, there is an issue with CPAP and an increase in some types of eye damage. The increased O2 in the eye decreases eye damage. I would get your SpO2 checked at night and see if it is dropping too low.

-tim wrote:If you search the old messages, there is an issue with CPAP and an increase in some types of eye damage. The increased O2 in the eye decreases eye damage. I would get your SpO2 checked at night and see if it is dropping too low.

Do you mean there's an issue with "sleep apnea" and an increase in some types of eye damage? If increased O2 helps, one would think CPAP makes it better.

BTW, look up zenni for eye glasses. They cost so much less than local eyeglass stores that they're worth buying just to try. I got my reading glasses for $10 or so and progressive no-line bifocals for $30 or so.

The following possible CPAP related eye problems are known.

Some masks may leak air and blow air toward the eyes. This may cause dryness problems.

The nasolacrimal duct runs from the eye socket to the nasal cavity to give your tears a place to drain out of. With some people, air bubbles may come out into the eye socket through this duct and cause dry eye problems or be annoying. I think this is fairly rare and I assume you'd feel it if it was happening. It probably makes it harder for tears to drain out of your eye while CPAP is on, so you might end up with watery eyes, even if air isn't leaking. However, watery eyes while sleeping is probably not harmful to the eyes.

There are some Total Face Masks that cover the eyes, nose, and mouth. There's some concern these may cause pressure in the eyes. It might (maybe) cause problems like glaucoma. Even normal glaucoma is poorly understood, so it's far from a foregone conclusion that TFM's cause eye problems. Not this is the total face mask, not the more common FFM Full Face Mask.